WQCS00003_NOI_NOV2022DV0082_Response_#2_20220406

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r • Wastewater • Sdid Waste
Administration, P.O. Box 2511, Winston-Salem, NC 27102
O: 336-727-8000, F: 336-727-8432, wskutilities.org
April 6, 2022
Lon T. Snider, Regional Supervisor
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Water Resources
450 West Hanes Mill Road, Suite 300
Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27105
Re: Sanitary Sewer Overflow Civil Penalties Incident #202200091
Dear Mr. Snider:
NC Department of
Environmental Quality
Received
APR 11 2022
Winston-Salem
Regional Office
This letter serves as the official response from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Utilities (WSFC
Utilities) to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water
Resources Notice of Intent to Enforce Civil Penalty for the January 12, 2022 sanitary sewer
overflow (SSO), Incident #202200091, located near 230 Town Run Lane in Winston-Salem. The
incident was a result of contractors depositing concrete in the line.
On January 12, 2022 at 10:00am, an SSO occurred in the sewer main across from 230 Town Run
Lane in downtown Winston-Salem. Our first responders deployed pump and haul while
investigating the cause of the SSO. The spill was stopped January 12, 2022 at 1:30pm and
normal flow resumed in less than four hours. During this time, our crew discovered that a
contractor on a construction site neglected to plug the manhole while pouring concrete. This
allowed the liquid concrete to flow into the sewer main where it hardened and caused an
overflow.
Following discovery of the concrete blockage, the contractor hired another firm for bypass
pumping. The section of pipe filled with concrete was removed and repairs were made. The
spill area was cleaned following standard protocol and a diffuser was deployed for three hours.
Our crews cleaned the upstream and downstream mains and CCTVed the line to confirm no
residual concrete remained, especially downstream of the repair.
Cdy Counalk Mayor Allen Johws; Denise D. Adams, Maya, Pro Tempore, North Want; Barbara Hanes gorge, Northeast Ward; Robert C dark, West Wartl;
John C. Larson, South Ward; Jeff Mxlntosh, Northwest Wartl; Kevin MuMy, Southwest Ward; Annette Scipplo, East Ward; James Taylor, It., Southeast Ward;
City Manages Lee 0. Qn,ty
County Commbabnen: Nek! R. Plyler, Chair; Don Martin, y o, Chair, Flaming El -Amin; Ted Kaplan; Rkhartl V. Limgle; To". McDaniel; rAorla D. WhlseMunt;
Call311 or 336-727-6000 County Manager: Dudley Watts, Jr.
Wham 'sakm/ForsTM County Wily Condonation: Randall S. Tuttle, Chair, L. Wesley Curtis, Jr., V. Chair; Harold E. Day; Hamel Eostaclwm ; ToGriffin;
[e-mail] onmH.Hines; Nam Long;Hugh W. Jernigan; ChnsParker; ChadesWilson; Alan Younger

,I
WSFC Utilities continues to make progress in minimizing SSOs and has the proper programs in
place to continue our high level of performance. Our comprehensive sanitary sewer evaluation
study has provided strategic cleaning and examination of our system to identify areas with the
greatest need for repair and replacement.
While we are required to clean 10% of the system each year, in FY 2020-2021, WSFC Utilities
cleaned more than 330 miles. This is 19% of the 1,783-mile gravity wastewater collection
system and 228 of those miles (69%) were proactively cleaned by in-house and contracted
crews. Our ongoing internal goal is to clean at least 20% of the entire gravity collection system,
with more frequent cleaning systematically scheduled for areas with higher incident levels.
I hope this information is helpful with your investigation of Incident #202200091. If you require
additional information, please contact me at 336-747-7315.
Sincerely,
cohi+AW
Courtney Driver, P.E.
Utilities Director
cc: Michael Stover, P.E., Assistant Utilities Director -Operations
Kenny Atkins, Utilities Field Operations Manager
Antonio Martinez, ORC
File